1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a paddle-wheel deliverer for a web-fed rotary printing machine, having a driven paddle wheel, to which products are fed for subsequent deposit onto a transport belt.
2. Description of the Related Art
In folders it is known to use the drive which drives the folding cylinders to drive the paddle wheel as well. For this purpose, use is made of cylindrical gear train with gear stages, tooth coupling, cylindrical gears for a deliverer transport belt, lubrication systems for the gears, together with an enclosed oiling system, and other equipment. In addition, complicated adjustments and installation work are necessary. During operation, manual adjustments are necessary, for example for the changeover between uncollected and collected production. Overall, the paddle-wheel deliverer is expensive.
German reference DE 195 09 947 Al shows a folder in which individual functional units are driven by their own position-controlled motor in each case. Thus, for the paddle wheel of a delivery unit, a motor is provided which additionally drives a pull roll over which there run the belts by means of which the products are fed to the paddle wheel. In this case, it is disadvantageous that the phase angle of the paddle wheel in relation to the incoming products cannot be varied during operation.
The object of the invention is to provide a cost-effective paddle-wheel deliverer in which the products can be transferred reliably into the paddle wheel.
Pursuant to this object, and others which will become apparent hereafter, one aspect of the present invention resides in a paddle wheel deliverer having a driven paddle wheel, a transport belt, and a position-controlled motor drivingly connected to the paddle wheel.
In another embodiment of the invention the motor of the paddle wheel is also drivingly connected to the transport belt.
In still another embodiment the paddle wheel has a shaft and the transport belt has shaft. The motor and at least one of the shaft of the paddle wheel and the shaft of the transport belt each have a gear wheel over which an endless positive flexible drive means runs. The flexible drive means can be preferably either a toothed belt or a chain.
In still another embodiment of the invention the rotational angular position of the paddle wheel can be set or regulated depending upon the incoming products to be delivered.
The apparatus makes it possible to dispense with mechanical gear trains, gear stages, and toothed couplings. In addition, adjusting devices and associated actuating means and electrical monitoring devices are dispensed with. Complicated adjustments and installation work do not arise either. Overall, as a result the apparatus can be set up cost-effectively. The apparatus contains only a few wearing parts and can easily be protected against overloading.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.